James



(N0 Mode 1.)

J-. G. HYDE.

GARMENT CLASP.

atented Apr. 29, 1884 a a m m m m m m M m m s H P n y UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. HYDE, OF VEST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE VEST HAVENBUCKLE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

GARMENT-CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,803, dated April29, 1884.

Application filed March 17, 1884. (No model.)v

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JAMEs C. HYDE, of Nest Haven, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inGarment-Clasps; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference markedthereon,to be a full, clean-and exact description of the same,

and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, afront View, Fig. 2, a sectional side View; Fig. 3, one of thejaws, showing the wire loop attached and extended to form the closing- I5 springs; Fig. 4, a perspective View of the wire loop detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in garment-clasps such as usedfor stockingsupporters and like purposes, and particularly to that classwhich consists of a pair of jaws hinged together midway of their length,with a spring between forcing the two ends together to clasp thegarment, the end of one attached to the strap, the other free, the twoends serving as handles, by which the jaws may be bent against thepressure of the spring, the object of the invention being principally toprovide the upper or tail end of the jaws with a guard to preventinterference with the garments, and make the tail portion principally ofwire; and the invention consists in the construction as hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly recited in the claims.

A represents one jaw, and B the other, the

two hinged together by a pintle, a, thetwo jaws extending above thepintle in the usual manner, and so that the action of the spring may beapplied above the pintle, tending to force the meeting or lower ends ofthe jaws together.

As usually constructed, the spring has been a helical spring arrangedaround the pintle,

one leg extending to bear upon one jaw, and the other upon the oppositejaw.

The loop C, by which the clasp is attached to the strap, is madefromwire, bent midway of its length to form the loop C; its two legs b 0,extending downward, are each coiled to the two parts. set together, thepintle is intro- 55.

duced, passing through the springs, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The ears hh are closed down upon the legs, so as to firmly unite the jaw B to thelegs of the loop C. The legs ff of the spring bear against the oppositejaw, A, as seen in Fig. 2, and so that by bringing the two upper ends ofthe jaw toward each other, the lower or meetin'gends will open to graspthe garment, and, left free, the spring will forcibly close the parts.

The guard consists of a piece of wire bent into U shape, the bend i ofthe U inclosed by the upper end of the jaw A turned over it, as at Z,Fig. 2. The twolegs m extend up and are hooked upon the loop, as seen inFigs. 1 and 2. This connection forms a hinge between the guard and thejaw, as also between the loop and the guard, and so as to permit thejaws to be opened, as seen in broken lines,

Fig. 2, the joint between the legs at m and the loop yielding for thispurpose.

The legs mm form a guard and prevent the tail end of the jaw A fromcatching upon the garments.

The loop andsprings may be formed and applied as shown withoutnecessarily employing the guard at m,- or some other guard may beemployed instead of the wire guard on m.

I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to thenecessary combinationof the guard with such a loop and spring.

Instead of extending both legs of the loop to form two separate springsd e, a single spring may be sufficientthat is, one leg only 0 may beextended to form such spring.

I claim 1. The combination of the two hinged jaws A B, the wire loop Chaving its two legs fixed to the tail of one of the jawsand ex- 5 tendedto form a helical spring between the two jaws, the end of the springarranged to so as to bear upon the opposite jaw, with the bear upon theopposite jaw, substantially as wire guard m m hinged to the said otherjaw described. and to the loop, substantially as described. 2. Thecombination of the two hinged jaws JAMES C. HYDE.

5 A B, the wire loop 0 attached to the tail of \Vitnesses: one of thejaws, the said loop extended to form Jos. G. EARLE.

a helical spring between the two jaws, and l .T. H. SIIUMWAY.

